Apparatus and method for electroplating

Abstract

An apparatus for electroplating, particularly in the production of metal matrices for manufacturing articles of plastic, such as compact discs, said apparatus comprising a container having a peripheral wall and opposed first and second end walls so as to form a plating space therein, adapted to house an electrolyte, and an anode, a carrier with an electrically conductive surface to be plated forming the cathode and means being arranged between the anode and the cathode for providing a flow of electrolyte from said cathode towards said anode. For allowing a faster production of metal matrices with better quality it is suggested according to the invention that the peripheral wall is formed with an internal contour which substantially corresponds to the surface to be plated, said carrier forming the second container end wall which through intermediate current supply members is sealingly urged against the mating edge of the peripheral wall, while the anode is located adjacent said first end wall of the container. (FIG. 1 )

We claim: 
     
       1. An electroplating apparatus comprising an anode, a cathode, opposed first and second endwalls and a peripheral wall, wherein the first and second endwalls and the peripheral wall define a plating space, the apparatus further including an electrolyte distribution channel conforming to the peripheral wall and having a plurality of perforations therein, to thereby provide an electrolyte pathway through each perforation from the electrolyte distribution channel into the plating space. 
     
     
       2. An electroplating apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each of said pathways has an axis which defines an oblique angle with a radius of the plating space. 
     
     
       3. An electroplating apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the oblique angle is approximately 30°. 
     
     
       4. An electroplating apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the perforations are equally spaced about the electrolyte distribution channel. 
     
     
       5. An electroplating apparatus comprising an anode, a cathode, opposed first and second endwalls and a peripheral wall, the apparatus further including an electrolyte distribution channel conforming to the peripheral wall and having a plurality of perforations therein, to thereby provide an electrolyte pathway from the electrolyte distribution channel into the plating space, wherein the endwalls and the peripheral wall are adapted to be sealingly engaged to allow electrolyte in the plating space to be maintained at an elevated pressure during an electroplating procedure. 
     
     
       6. In an electroplating process which uses an electroplating apparatus comprising an anode, a cathode, opposed first and second end walls and a peripheral wall, wherein the first and second end walls and the peripheral wall define a plating space, the apparatus further including an electrolyte distribution channel conforming to the peripheral wall and having a plurality of perforations therein, to thereby provide an electrolyte pathway from the electrolyte distribution channel into the plating space, the improvement which comprises causing the electrolyte to enter the plating space at an oblique angle relative to the peripheral wall. 
     
     
       7. In an electroplating process which uses an electroplating apparatus comprising an anode, a cathode, opposed first and second endwalls and a peripheral wall, wherein the first and second end walls and the peripheral wall define a plating space, the apparatus further including an electrolyte distribution channel conforming to the peripheral wall and having a plurality of perforations therein to thereby provide an electrolyte pathway from the electrolyte distribution channel into the plating space, the improvement which comprising causing the electrolyte to enter the plating space at an oblique angle and further wherein the process is used to plate a disk formed of a polymeric material. 
     
     
       8. The improvement of claim 7 wherein the disk formed of a polymeric material is a compact disk. 
     
     
       9. In an electroplating process which uses an electroplating apparatus comprising an anode, a cathode, opposed first and second endwalls and a peripheral wall, wherein the first and second endwalls and the peripheral wall define a plating space, the apparatus further including an electrolyte distribution channel conforming to the peripheral wall and having a plurality of perforations therein, to thereby provide an electrolyte pathway from the electrolyte distribution channel into the plating space, the improvement which comprises maintaining the electrolyte at an elevated pressure during the plating process. 
     
     
       10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein the elevated pressure is in the range of approximately 0.1-10.0 bar. 
     
     
       11. The improvement of claim 9 wherein the elevated pressure is approximately 0.5 bar.